


Saving your Saviour

by Aeshdan



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - No Kwamis, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/M, Graphic Description, further characters and relation tags TBA as revealed in story, needs a better title, some ptsd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24722092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeshdan/pseuds/Aeshdan
Summary: When she is rescued from a fate worse than death by the most infamous outlaw in the kingdom, Marinette must keep him hidden and safe while nursing him back to health. But the Miraculous Cat Noir turns out to have far more secrets than she could have ever guessed, and the revelations that ensue could change the course of entire kingdoms.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work owes a great deal to the works of [TheNovelArtist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNovelArtist)  
> , in particular his [Debts On The Battlefield](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17852252) and [Their Lucky Charm: A Kind Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16306949).

Marinette pulled her cloak closer around her as she slipped through the forest, flinching at the noises that surrounded her. She didn’t often go this deep into the forest. It had always been dangerous, a home for brigands and wild beasts, but ever since the war between her own Paree and its northern neighbor of Franeaux began some years ago, it had become more dangerous than ever. With so many fighting men diverted to the front lines, the wolves and other predators of the forest hadn’t been culled in many years, and were growing swiftly more numerous. There were more deserters than ever, and they were far more dangerous.

And then there were the Miraculous, the mysterious band of outlaws who had made the war so much more complicated, striking against targets on both sides of the line in accordance with criteria only they understood. Marinette wasn’t quite sure how she felt about those. The rumors quietly circulating claimed that they weren’t common outlaws, that they focused their attacks against those in either kingdom that had proved particularly cruel, those who used the power of noble rank or soldier’s training to rob and despoil the innocent. Whispered stories suggested that those who were merely trying to survive were mostly safe from the predations of the Miraculous. Still, Marinette wasn’t about to take those rumors at face value. She knew how tempting it was to believe in heroes, to believe that these outlaws would abide by the codes of honor the actual nobility had so conspicuously failed to uphold. She also knew that just because someone claimed a code that didn’t mean they lived up to it.

Ahead of her, Marinette spotted an open patch, a line of light through the trees. Soon, she reached the edge of a narrow creek. The ground fell away in front of her, and looking down she could see the waters of the creek flashing with sunlight. Along both banks, reeds and other plants sprouted in patches between the tumbled rocks, including…

_There it is!_

Marinette scrambled down the bank and quickly picked her way across the rocks to the patch of reeds sprouting around the base of a rock. She drew a belt knife and began to cut the knobweed reeds away, carefully tucking them into a pouch at her belt.

This was why she’d risked coming this deep into the forest. Knobweed sap was a powerful antiseptic, and with more wounded coming back from the front lines every day and most of the healers taken to the wars, Marinette and her mother needed as much of the sap as they could get. But, unlike many of the herbs whose use Sabine had been teaching Marinette, knobweed couldn’t be grown in a garden. It could only be harvested here, deep in the forest.

There was a sudden crash from further up the bank, and Marinette spun. Standing at the top of the hill was a man with a scruffy beard, clad in padded leather armor. Marinette took the man in at a glance, eyes widening in horror. The man’s garb was in the black-trimmed yellow of her own Paree, but over the heart, where the bee crest of Paree should have been, there was only a line of crude stitching like a scar. This was a deserter.

Marinette spun on her heel and bolted, splashing across the stream and scrambling up the bank on the far side of the creek. Behind her, she heard the clatter of stones shifting as the deserter scrambled down the bank and across the creek in her wake. She continued to flee blindly, smashing through branches and dodging around trees, trying only to stay ahead of her pursuer.

And then she dashed into an open clearing, and skidded to a halt in horror. There were at least half a dozen men in padded leather armor lounging around the clearing. Most wore the black-trimmed yellow of Paree, but two wore the copper-edged purple of Franeaux and all had the crude, scar-like stitching where their respective countries’ crest should have been.

Marinette tried to turn, but the first man was already standing right behind her. “Gotcha, girlie,” he said with a grin.

“Now, now, Phillip,” a voice with a slight Franeaux said from behind Marinette. “We wouldn’t want to give the girl the wrong idea.”

Marinette slowly turned to see a dark-skinned man in Franeaux copper-and-purple climb out of a tent of the far side of the camp and stride across the clearing towards her. Unlike the rest of the deserters, he wore gleaming chainmail and a sword at his hip, and the crest on his tabard was intact, showing the sign of a black cats-paw on a green field.

Marinette stared at that crest in shock. _Wasn’t the Miraculous Cat Noir’s crest a pawprint? I thought Luka’s tale had it as a green pawprint on black, but maybe he got it reversed. It’s not like he actually knows Cat Noir, after all._

“Sir Theo Barbot, at your service,” he said. “Now, if you’ll kindly put down that knife and come this way, I promise I’ll be gentle.” He gestured with one hand towards one of the tents, one that seemed to be a little larger and better-maintained than the others, even as he gave her a subtle leer.

For just a moment, fear paralyzed Marinette as Theo drew closer to her. In a few moments, her fates had been reduced to two, both equally horrible. Then, as Theo extended his hand towards her, she made up her mind and lunged forwards, trying to plunge the belt knife she was still holding into Theo’s eye.

But as fast as she moved, Theo was faster. He twisted out of the way of her stab, his hand closing around her wrist like a vise. He squeezed her wrist, forcing her to drop the dagger and causing her to yelp in pain.

Theo’s mask of courtesy fell away, and she saw naked rage in his eyes. “Well,” he said, “If you want to do this the hard way, then so be it. Phillip, Louis, help me strip her. I’ll have her in front of you all, and you can have your turns once I’m done.”

Someone, presumably the one Theo had called Phillip, grabbed Marinette from behind, grabbing her arms and twisting them behind her back. Marinette screamed and thrashed, trying to tear free of the soldier’s grip to no avail. Theo approached, knotting his hands in the bodice of Marinette’s dress…

Suddenly, multiple deserters shouted “Look out!” almost at once. Theo released Marinette’s dress, hand flying to the hilt of his sword, and then there was a gurgling scream practically in Marinette’s ear and Phillip released her hands. Marinette promptly flung herself sideways, tumbling to the ground and rolling back over to see a man now standing right behind her previous location, where the deserter had been a moment earlier.

He was clad from the neck down in a tight suit of black leather, broken only by a green pawprint design over his heart. Brilliant green eyes shown from behind a black mask, and leather cat ears seemed to sprout from messy blonde hair. In his hand was a long and slender sword, blade red with blood, and Phillip the deserter lay at his feet with a massive bloodstain spreading from his chest.

“Let the girl go, Barbot,” the man said.

“Cat Noir,” Theo replied, his own sword in his hand. “This time you’ve picked a fight even you can’t win. And when I drag your bloody corpse back to King Agreste, that might actually be enough to get me back my lands and title. So _thank you_ for coming here today.”

With that, everyone seemed to move at once. Marinette scrambled backwards on hands and knees as Cat Noir lunged forward towards Theo, who fell back before him. Marinette lost track of the combat for a moment as Cat Noir and Theo Barbot passed behind a tent. There was the clash of metal on metal, then a thud sounded even as Marinette scrambled to her feet. A moment later, she peeked around the edge of the tent. Cat Noir was standing more or less in the middle of the camp, facing Theo. Another of the deserters lay at his feet, blood gushing from a slit throat. The remainder of the deserters hung back, none apparently wanting to get within sword’s reach of the leader of the Miraculous.

After a moment’s pause, Theo took a step forward, striking at Cat Noir, but the black-clad figure side-stepped the stroke and retaliated. Theo caught the blow on his mailed forearm, but Cat Noir’s black sword cut through the chain-mail, drawing blood. Marinette ducked back behind the tent, turning to see… yes, her belt knife was still lying on the ground, just visible from this angle. She took a moment’s breath, then dashed out from behind the tent, lunging for the dagger.

But before she could reach it, something slammed into her chest, sending her crashing to the ground with the breath driven from her lungs. She rolled over to see one of the deserters standing over her, a heavy cudgel in his hands.

“Oh no you don’t,” he said. Behind him, she could see that one of the common deserters had apparently stumbled into Barbot’s path, with Cat Noir having taken advantage of their unbalance to drive his sword into the commoner’s chest. But at the same moment yet another deserter attacked Cat Noir from behind, driving his spear at the Miraculous’s back. The spear connected, but it didn’t seem to penetrate the black leather of Cat Noir’s suit. Cat Noir twisted away from the strike, diving out of the ring of enemies and somehow managing to slash the leg of one of the deserter spearmen as he dived past him.

“Alright, little girl,” the deserter standing over Marinette said, “Now what am I going to do with you? You’re a feisty one and no mistake, but I don’t want to waste a prime piece of skirt if I can help it.”

Marinette wheezed, trying to drag breath back into her lungs.

“All right,” the deserter said, “Off with the belt.”

“Wha…” Marinette gasped, still struggling to breathe.

“I said off with it!” the deserter bellowed, hefting his cudgel.

Marinette flinched back, her hands falling to her belt buckle. She glanced down her body, then up to the deserter looming over her, then inhaled sharply and kicked up between the deserter’s legs. Her foot connected and the deserter let out a surprisingly high-pitched screech. He struck at her with his cudgel, but she managed to roll to the side, dodging the blow, and then rolled back to her feet. The deserter with the cudgel glared at her, but his legs were shaking and he was clearly having trouble holding his cudgel. Behind him, Cat Noir seemed to have cut down the last of the common deserters, but was now bleeding from a slash across his forehead and was locked in a duel with Theo. Their swords flashed back and forth, the two seeming evenly matched for the moment.

Marinette glanced around. Where was her knife? She spotted it and dived on top of it, rolling over to come up with the blade in her hand. As she sprang back to her feet, what she saw filled her with horror. Theo had managed to maneuver Cat Noir until his back was facing the deserter with the club, who was sneaking up behind him.

“Look out!” Marinette shouted, breaking into a run towards them. But even as she shouted, two other parties moved. Cat Noir’s sword lashed out, and Theo brought up his own blade to block. Cat Noir's sword struck against Theo's... and cut _though_ it, Barbot's blade snapping in half and Cat Noir's blow continuing on to slice Barbot's head cleanly from his shoulders. But even as the corpse of the Franeux knight slumped to the ground, the final deserter brought his cudgel down on Cat Noir’s head, sending the Miraculous limply to the ground.

Marinette felt a sudden surge of fury, and redoubled the speed of her charge. Before the final deserter could turn to confront her, she leapt up onto his back, wrapping her legs and her free hand around him. He staggered forward, and before he could recover his balance she slashed her belt knife across his throat. Hot blood gushed out, drenching both her arms, and the burly man crashed to the ground beneath her.

Marinette pulled her arm out from under the corpse, and then stared down at the liquid red blod covering her hands and drenching her sleeves. This was far from the first time she’d had blood on her hands, even human blood. Over the past several years, she’d tended dozens of wounds, and you couldn’t do that without getting your hands dirty. But this was different. This time… This time she didn’t just have literal blood on her hands, she had figuratively bloodied her hands. She had killed another human being, not by accident but because she had decided he should die.

The hot, metallic smell of the blood seemed to force its way into her nostrils, and Marinette bent over and vomited again and again, until her stomach was empty of everything but bile and the nauseating consciousness of the life she had taken. Eventually, she managed to raise her head enough to see Cat Noir’s body where he lay near her. From this close, she could see he was sporting half a dozen wounds, cuts and gashes where those spears and Barbot’s sword had pierced his leathers and the black color had hidden the bloodstains.

Suddenly, she noticed Cat Noir’s leather chest slowly rising and falling. He was still alive. Wounded, probably dying, but maybe not beyond saving. Shock ran through her like lightning, clearing her thoughts and granting her renewed focus.

 _Ok, now where would I find some water?_ she thought. _Before I can bind those wounds, I’ve got to clean them._

_And wash off my hands._


	2. Chapter 2

Kagami Tsirugi, Miraculous Dragon, surveyed the ruined campsite. The reddish light of a Sun near setting blended with the crimson stains across the ground, painting the whole scene as red as Kagami’s Miraculous leathers. A dozen bodies lay scattered around the campsite, though there were tents enough for more than that. Most were clad in the padded leather armor of common infantry, seven in the black-trimmed yellow of Paree and four in the copper-edged purple of Franeaux. And regardless of their colors, all bore a scar-like line of crude stitching over their heart, marking them as deserters.  
  
Not that that on its own would have been an issue. This Plagg-touched war had brought many deserters, and most were simply desperate people who’d been conscripted by force and didn’t want to die. A few had even been recruited as Miraculous over the years, and they had smuggled many more to safety in neighboring kingdoms over the mountains or in the demesnes of the few nobles on their side.  
  
But these were not terrified and untrained conscripts, or those whose souls had been worn thin to breaking by the stress of battle, of killing and of seeing their comrades die. These were killers, trained and skilled professionals who didn’t lack for courage or ability. They could have been among the elite of their respective armies, had they not decided to use their skills to prey on the defenseless rather than protecting their realm’s interests. And worse, they’d gathered around the leadership of the final corpse. Sir Theo Barbot, formerly of Franeaux. Kagami had heard stories about him from Cat Noir, who had known him before the war began, and from what Cat had said Barbot had had the singularly unfortunate combination of considerable combat skill, fierce cunning, and a near-total lack of morals. There’d been a reason Cat had been checking on Barbot’s camp today. Only now Cat Noir had been missing for hours, the camp was littered with bodies that had died by violence and been hastily looted, and there was a trail Kagami’s mother could have followed smashed through the underbrush straight for Paree City.  
  
Kagami glanced over to her partner. Nino Lahiffe, the Turtle, was the third of the founding Miraculous, and he and Kagami were among the few who knew Cat's birth name. Turtle would know how complicated things might get if Cat Noir were brought to Paree City.  
  
“There must have been a fight,” Kagami said. “Barbot and his men discovered Cat, and for some reason he couldn’t break away. He cut down a bunch of them, but they took him down in turn. Then the survivors dragged him off towards Paree. Whether he’s alive or dead, we both know King Bourgeoise would shower fame and fortune on anyone who could bring him the infamous Cat Noir.”  
  
She knew her voice must have sounded oddly emotionless to Turtle. Years of training in discipline kept her pain and horror internal, and these Easterners didn’t value self-control in the same way that her own people did. Still, Turtle had known her for years now. He could see through her mask almost as well as Cat, and he would know why she had called up that focus.  
  
“We may have time to catch them,” Turtle said. “This blood is still relatively fresh, this can’t have happened that long ago.”  
  
“Then let’s go,” Kagami said. She spun crisply on her heel, setting off down the broken path at a quick jog with Turtle in her wake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From her hiding place just inside the treeline, Marinette stared across the clear-cut region to the walls surrounding the capital city of Paree.

 _How in the lamb’s blood am I supposed to get Cat Noir through the gates_? she thought. Her parents were tradesmen and, as such things went, of fairly decent rank. They weren’t nobles or castle servants, but they did live inside the city proper, protected by the walls and the guard. Unfortunately, those same walls would block her from sneaking in or out of the city, and those same guards would certainly take notice if she tried to bring in a man who was unconscious, stripped to his underwear, and covered in bandages.

_I don’t have long. It’s almost dark, and once the sun goes down the gates will close. Plus, even if I could sneak Cat Noir past closed gates it will be ten times harder to get him home without being spotted and questioned once the curfew takes effect._

_Ok,_ she thought, looking around. _So what do I have to work with?_

She glanced back and forth from the improvised litter on which she’d dragged the Miraculous Cat Noir’s unconscious form this far to the piles of cut brush and tree limbs around her to the heavy cloak she’d draped over him.

 _This is a stupid idea,_ she thought, _but I don’t have the time to think of a better one._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sabine Cheng was nervous. It was almost dark, and Marinette still wasn’t back. Even if she hadn’t been able to find the knobweed sap, she should have been back home by now.

 _Did something happen to her?_ she thought, grinding willowbark into a paste. It was good to have something to do with her hands while she waited. She couldn’t help fidgeting, but this at least let her do something useful with her fidgets. Behind her, dinner sat on the table, slowly getting cold.

 _Where is she?_ Sabine thought again. _Tom being conscripted was bad enough, I couldn’t bear losing Marinette as well. Please, Tikki, bring my daughter home to me._

As if in response, there was a rapid knock at the rear door of the bakery. Sabine’s heart leapt, and she hastily released the pestle and spun to dash to the rear door. She threw the door open, to see Marinette standing there. She lunged forward and pulled Marinette into a hug, relief filling her.

“You’re alright,” she whispered. “Thank Tikki, you’re safe. I was so worried!”

For a moment, the two of them just stood like that, reveling in the simple relief of being together again. Then, Marinette stiffened. “Uh, Mom,” she said, pushing slightly against Sabine. She reluctantly released Marinette. That tone of voice made her nervous.

“Ok,” Marinette said, ducking her head and looking nervous, “please don’t panic. This is going to… uh…”

For the first time, Sabine registered that there was a huge bundle of fresh-cut vegetation on what looked like an improvised litter next to Marinette. Marinette turned and began to pull the brush off the litter. Under the brush was a thick blanket, which she pulled back to reveal a limp body wrapped in bandages.

“Uh, Marinette,” Sabine asked, already certain she wasn’t going to like the answer. “Who is that, and why did you cover him in branches?”

Marinette quickly looked around, as if checking for eavesdroppers. “I’m pretty sure he’s the Miraculous Cat Noir.”

Sabine froze, then instinctively glanced around herself. “ _Cat Noir_?” she hissed, her barely-settled fears flashing over to anger. “Marinette, what are you doing bringing _him_ here? If anyone finds out…”

“Mom, he saved my life!” Marinette hissed, cutting off Sabine’s rant.

“What?” Sabine asked.

Marinette shuddered. “In the forest… there were bandits, they had grabbed me, their leader was getting ready to…”

Sabine pulled Marinette into another hug.

“Cat Noir saved me,” Marinette continued, voice slightly muffled against Sabine’s chest. “He took on the whole camp, got stabbed and hit over the head and hurt so badly to save me. I have to save him back.”

Sabine felt her anger vanish. Outlaw or no outlaw, she owed Cat Noir her daughter’s life. “Of course,” she said. “Come on, we’d better get him inside before the Watch comes round.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said, pulling away from Sabine to dash over to the other side of the improvised litter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From his hiding place just inside the treeline, Nino Lahiffe stared across the clear-cut region to the walls surrounding the capital city of Paree. The gates to the capitol were closed and barred, and soldiers patrolled the walls by lamplight.

“So…” Nino said, glancing over to where Kagami crouched beside him. “Now what?”

For a few long moments, Kagami just stared, her face smooth and expressionless as a porcelain mask. Only deep in her eyes could he see any hint of feeling.

“Now,” she said, voice as hard and smooth as her face, “we return to camp. If Cat is dead, then he is beyond any of our powers to help. If he is still alive, Bourgeois will want to make a spectacle of him, doubly so if the king or the Princess realize who it is they truly have. We will have a few days to plan a rescue, and we will want the aid of the others.”

Nino closed his eyes and sighed. “Agreed,” he said. “Though I can’t imagine how I’m going to get any sleep tonight, with my dude in Bourgeois’s hands.”

Kagami didn’t respond to that as she turned back into the woods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cat Noir’s wounds were cleaned, Marinette’s improvised bandages replaced with proper bandages and dressings, Cat Noir himself was tucked safely into Marinette’s bed, and his stuff was hidden under a pile of her spare cloth bits. He was as safe as they could make him. And suddenly, like a dam bursting, the horror that Marinette had kept down with her focus on needing to save Cat Noir came bubbling up again.

She wasn’t quite sure how it happened, her mind was a little blurry, but she found herself on the couch, crying into her mother’s chest.

“I killed him,” she whispered. “I killed him.”

She felt Sabine tense against her. “Killed who?” she asked.

“One of the bandits,” Marinette said. “Cat Noir… the bandit hit him over the head and he just went down, and then…”

She felt her stomach twist again and practically ripped herself out of her mother’s embrace, running for the privy. She just barely managed to get in position to vomit a few mouthfuls of bile into the chamber pot. Her stomach twisted, but there was nothing more to come up. Tears came instead, running down her face to drip into the chamber pot.

She knelt there for a moment, memories of blood pouring over her hands replaying in her mind. Then she felt her mother’s arms wrap around her in a hug as delicate as if she were handling a freshly baked pillowbread.

“Was there anything else you could have done?” her mother whispered in her ear. “Was there any other way to stop that bandit and save Cat Noir’s life?”

“No,” Marinette whispered back.

“Then you did the right thing,” her mother said. “I wish to Tikki and Plagg and the Almighty himself that you hadn’t had to hurt someone, but you did, and that is not your fault. It doesn’t make you a monster, it doesn’t make you anything but a daughter whom I love more than I can say and who had to make a terrible choice.”

“Uh,” Marinette said, after they had knelt there a bit longer, “Could I have some water, please? I need to wash my mouth out.”

“And then maybe some dinner,” Sabine said. “We both know you need something to eat almost as bad as Cat Noir will, after the day you’ve had.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pale moonlight shone down on a handful of tents arranged around a central campfire amongst the trees. Two figures were visible outside the tents. One was a redhead in brilliant white leather, who held a gleaming spear as she gazed outwards into the darkness. The other was Kagami Tsirugi, now changed out of her crimson Miraculous leathers into a white _kimono_. She sat cross-legged in front of her tent, and on the ground in front of her were set three small plaques. One showed a stylized turtle, the second an anthropomorphic cat, and the third a crimson-scaled dragon. In front of the plaque, a small cup held several thin rods of incense, the tips smouldering. Slowly, Kagami pulled the featureless silver ring from the fourth finger of her left hand, setting it between the plaques and the incense sticks.

“Plagg, Bringer of the End,” Kagami whispered, shifting from the fluid Prench spoken in Franeaux and Paree to the sharper syllables of her ancestral Kazanchi. “I beg you, please spare Cat Noir your wrath, for he bears your name. May your touch fall instead upon his foes and mine, that they may yet loose the prize they seek. Wayzz, Shield Bearer, I pray for your protection on my beloved. Please, let him live, keep him safe, and bring him back to me. Longg, Rider of Storms, master of my stars. I ask for your blessing upon me through these days ahead. May I have the freedom of the winds to react to whatever may come, the cunning of the waves to see what must be done, and the will of the storms to seize what chance may bring. Sobiet.”

She closed her eyes and sat there for a time, and then she opened them again. She picked up the ring and slid it back onto the fourth finger of her left hand, then extinguished the incense sticks, collected them and the plaques, and went into the tent. Inside it, she put away her ritual supplies, skinned out of the kimono and into a nightgown, and lay down on one side of the tent. For a moment, she contemplated the empty blankets on the other side of the tent, and then she rolled over and faced the outer wall.

Nearby, the same moonlight shone down on a three-story building within the walled city of Paree. In a bed on the top floor, a young blonde man covered with bandages twitched and murmured in his sleep while a woman of Kazanchi heritage sat in a chair and watched him. And on the floor below, Marinette Dupain-Cheng slept snuggled up in her mother's bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette let out another jaw-twisting yawn as she carefully stitched a seam by Moon’s light.

 _Almighty, I could have used more than four hours of sleep,_ she thought.

Unfortunately, four hours was all that her mother had been able to give her. They _had_ to have someone with Cat Noir at all times, at least until he woke up and they could tell him where he was and what was going on, and her mother needed at least a few hours of sleep before getting up to start the baking.

 _We may have to bring Alya in again,_ she thought. _Mom and I can’t care for Cat Noir and keep up everything else we need to do, not for long. But I’ve never brought Alya in on anything half this big before. Can I trust her to keep her mouth shut?_

 _I suppose I don’t really have a choice,_ she thought, stifling another yawn and looking enviously at where Cat Noir lay in her usual bed. She’d be sharing her mother’s bed for the immediate future.

 _At least I can do something productive while I wait,_ she thought. Moonlight might not be good for judging colors, but when she already knew which fabrics she wanted it was enough for stitch-work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagami danced with the winds. Her sword Ryuko flashed and twirled around her, the Tsirugi blade shining red in the diffused light of just-risen Sun.

“As elusive as the winds…” Kagami whispered. She leapt about, springing away from imaginary attacks and dodging around phantom foes.

“As powerful as the floods…”

Kagami shifted her stance. Now she stood still, barely swaying in order to dodge attacks or parrying them with Ryuko, then retaliating with precisely controlled thrusts.

“As swift as the lightning…”

Again Kagami shifted tactics. Now she pressed forward, attack flashing into attack in a reckless storm of blows that sliced her phantom opponents to ribbons. With a final shout, she stabbed forward, driving Ryuko’s blade through the heart of one last shadow opponent. She held that pose for a moment, just breathing.

Her focus was interrupted by a twinge of pain from her breasts, and she grimaced slightly as she straightened and slid Ryuko back into its sheath. Her Miraculous leathers had been carefully fitted, snug but not too tight. Had they somehow shrunk?

 _Never mind,_ she thought, the deep dread that she had momentarily escaped through the practice seeping back into her stomach. _Not the time for that now._

She made her way back through the trees towards the campsite. As they drew nearer, Kagami felt her stomach twist at the odor of cooking meat. That was odd, she had never been repelled by the odor of roasting meat before. Not if it was competently cooked, at least, and Turtle was a gifted cook.

Turtle was serving breakfast to the other Miraculous, and Kagami let him pile her plate high with bacon, eggs, and biscuits. Her nausea had passed as swiftly as it had come, and she was suddenly aware of how ravenous she felt. After everyone had been served, Kagami finally spoke up.

“We all know what happened yesterday,” she said, a lifetime of practice keeping her face emotionless and her voice level. “Cat Noir is missing, and the balance of probability is that King Bourgeois has him. We need to find out where he is and what’s going on as soon as possible. Raven, the _Liberty_ should be returning today with the supplies from Lavillant. Make contact with Serpent and pick up the supplies, but also pass the word along to Serpent, ask him to investigate. We can also rendezvous at the _Liberty_ for lunch, to compare notes. She’ll be docked in Paree harbor, right?”

“That is the plan,” Raven said in a low monotone.

“Excellent,” Kagami said, continuing the plan that she had formed during her morning prayers and drills. “Turtle and I will go in directly. Turtle can try and make contact with Horse, of all of our assets he’s probably in the best position to have spotted something. Rabbit and I will be on general circulation, see what we can find in the way of local gossip and be on hand in case we need to move quickly. Boar, I’m afraid that leaves you minding the camp.”

“Not a problem, Dragon,” Boar replied with a quick salute.

None of these were their birth names, of course, but it had been the rule from the very start that the Miraculous addressed each other by their titles rather than their birth names. Who you had been before becoming Miraculous was irrelevant, except when it impacted a mission, and it was even permissible to keep your birth identity a secret. Cat Noir himself had tried to do so, with mixed success.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Rabbit said, “a pigeon arrived from Fox last night, after everyone was asleep. Apparently, Duchess Graham de Vanily has been blackmailing Duke Jagged Stone into lending his support to Franeaux. Apparently the good Duke has a bastard child, one younger than his marriage to boot. Anyway, Fox managed to get ahold of the letter that proved the girl was Duke Jagged Stone’s, but she couldn’t be certain Graham de Vanily hadn’t made copies so she decided just to burn the asset for both sides by telling the entire Franeaux court the story. She expects that the tale will get back to Albion’s court within a few weeks.”

Kagami considered this development. House Graham de Vanily was one of the great houses of nearby Albion, and they and the several other Albion noble houses they’d bribed, blackmailed, or persuaded to lend their troops to the war effort was one of the main factors that had let Franeaux keep up with the mercenary companies Paree had brought to the war. With the Albion court and Graham de Vanily’s alliance in chaos, Franeaux’s troops would likely lose momentum for a time. Which was just as well, Franeux had been gaining the upper hand of late. Even Paree’s economy could only support so many mercenaries, especially with the trade routes wrecked by the war.

“Good to know,” Turtle said, “But right now, let’s just focus on getting A- Cat Noir back, Ok?”

“Agreed,” Kagami said. “Come on, let’s get our civilian clothes on. We all have work to do.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bell attached to the shop door chimed, indicating that someone had just walked in. Sabine hustled forward from the kitchen to the shop proper, stuffing down her worries and calling up her cheerful tradeswoman’s face.

Standing in the front of her shop was a young woman with pale orange hair and blue-green eyes. She was clad in the black-trimmed yellow of the Crown’s servants, the same as the two men-at-arms that flanked her. At the sight of the woman, Sabine had to take a moment to double down on her façade, trying her best to keep her fear and irritation hidden. This was Sabrina Ranicomprix, Princess Bourgeois’ maidservant and somewhere on the top ten list of people Sabine _really_ did not want to meet right now.

“The king wants five hundred fruit tarts and a honey drizzle cake for the Princess’s twentieth birthday party,” Sabrina said, not looking up from a checklist. “The tarts should have a mixture of fruits, including strawberries and raspberries but no peaches, and make sure that they’re not overripe. The cake should have a subtlety depicting the Princess with Venom and in chain mail, looking regal and fierce. Got that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sabine said, her mind racing as she grabbed a notepad. Get a royal order wrong and you were lucky to escape with your hide intact, let alone your business. “Five hundred fruit tarts, including strawberries and raspberries but not peaches, and a honey drizzle cake with a subtlety showing Princess Chloe, armored and with her sword.” She finished the note and set the pad down.

“Good,” Sabrina said. “Here’s twenty-five gold for expenses,” she added, offering Sabine a small bag. “I see you’ve done palace deliveries before, so you know where and how to deliver. Do remember to do an itemized list of expenses, the faster the clerks can check your figures the faster you’ll get the rest of your payment.”

Sabrina turned to go, then stopped. “And I’ll have half a dozen of those cheese-and-sausage rolls,” she added, fishing in her pocket.

“Thank you,” Sabine said with a slightly distracted smile, her mind racing as she accepted the payment and turned over the pastry.

_Ok… fresh fruit’s expensive, but twenty-five crowns plus what we’ve got in the cashbox should be plenty, and the palace clerks are generally good about paying if you give good service so I probably don’t have to worry about the second half of the payment. But five hundred tarts… just baking the shells will take the better part of a couple of days, and that’s really the only part of this I can let sit even for a couple of days. The cake and the actual fruit cutting and filling will have to be done at the last minute… Marinette’s right, we’ll definitely need to bring Alya Cesaire in to help with the baking. The Princess’s birthday is in nine days…_

_Almighty, I miss my Tom. Please bring him back safely…_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sparring room rang with the chime of metal on metal as Sabrina slipped in through the door. The Princess was out on the floor, Venom a blur of gold in her hand as she pressed back a terrified-looking guardsman.

Sabrina idly wondered what the idiot had done that had gotten him nominated as the Princess’s sparring partner. It was one of those duties that nobody would _ever_ take by choice. Princess Chloe was actually quite good with a sword, good enough that even a trained soldier would have to go all-out to match her, and that always brought the risk of hurting her and getting both Princess and King mad at you. But you couldn’t simply take a dive either, or at least not too obviously, because she was furious when she thought her partners were going easy on her. And on top of that…

The guard let out a yelp as the tip of Venom pierced the boiled leather of his breastplate.

“Halt!” a voice bellowed from the far side of the ring, and Sir Kim strode out into the circle.

“I think the bout goes to you, Your Highness,” Kim said, shooting a quick smile in the Princess’s direction. The Princess dimpled at him in return. “Now come on,” he said to the guard, “let’s get that breastplate off and see if that needs bandaging.”

Sabrina grabbed a towel from the nearby stack and scampered out into the ring, while the guard peeled off his breastplate. This sort of incident was unfortunately quite common, as the Princess _always_ trained with a live blade. Sabrina supposed you had to, wielding a Tsirugi blade. Venom was not merely one of the finely crafted deathsteel blades that the Tsirugi smiths normally produced but one of the named blades, the peerless masterpieces that had made House Tsirugi a legend. And a Tsirugi named-blade was always, by some technique nobody outside of House Tsirugi understood in the slightest, perfectly shaped and balanced for its rightful wielder. Venom fit Princess Chloe like an extension of her very body, answering her will as readily as her own arm did, and to fit a training guard to the blade would ruin that perfect balance.

“Here you go, Your Highness,” Sabrina said, stuffing the bag with the rest of the rolls under her arm and offering the Princess a handkerchief. The Princess took it with a quick nod and wiped the blood from the tip of Venom’s yellow blade before sliding the sword back into its sheath.

“Here’s a towel for you,” Sabrina said, proffering the towel to Princess Chloe, who took it, “and I got you some sausage rolls. They’re good.”

Chloe draped the towel around her neck with one hand and grabbed the bag from Sabrina with the other. She pulled a roll out of the bag and took a bite.

“Not bad,” she said with a smile. “I assume these are from whoever you got to handle my birthday pastries?”

“Yes indeed, Your Highness,” Sabrina said, pulling one of the rolls out of her pocket. “You’re very smart,” she added before taking a bite of the roll.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having reached a stopping point on her dress, Marinette had decided to go through Cat Noir’s things, to see if there was anything important she’d missed in the previous night’s scramble. Some way to contact the other Miraculous, for example.

The pockets of his leather suit hadn’t yielded up anything particularly useful: a few coins, flint and steel, some jerky and a wheel of soft cheese, basic things you’d need to make camp in the forest long-term. He’d worn two rings: one was a simple band of silver that she’d left on his hand, but the other was made of black-enameled metal, with tiny chips of emerald forming a cats-paw design. The blade of his knife had the rippling black patterns of deathsteel, which was odd: Only House Tsirugi of far-off Kazanchi knew the secret of making deathsteel, and they charged accordingly. Only someone very rich indeed could afford a deathsteel belt knife.

Finally, she came to his sword. She suppressed a slight shudder as she inched the blade a bit out of its sheath. The blade was black, darker than even cast iron, and oddly glossy. She brushed the glasslike surface of the flat with a finger, then noticed something almost hidden under the sheath and pulled the sword a little further out.

A complex symbol she didn’t recognize was set into the blade, written in what looked like bright green enamel.

 _I’ll have to show this to Mom,_ Marinette thought. _This looks like Kazanchi, maybe Mom can translate it. I wonder if there’s more?_

She pulled the blade further out to reveal more writing, this time in Prench.

 _“Plagg”_ she thought, _Is that the sword’s name? Wonder if it’s famous? Luka would know, but I’ll have to be careful how I ask._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a groaning sound from her bed. She quickly shoved the sword back into its sheath and rushed over to Cat Noir’s side.

His eyes blinked open, and he stared up at her.

“Here,” Marinette said, offering him a glass. “Have some water.” _Need to get him hydrated before anything else. Food can come later._

Cat Noir carefully sipped the water. “Thanks,” he said after finishing it. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Marinette,” Marinette said. “I’m… the girl you rescued in the forest,” she added, feeling herself blush.

“Ah,” Cat said, nodding his head slightly. “Uh…” he added, looking embarrassed, “I don’t suppose… you know who _I_ am?”


	4. Chapter 4

_“Uh…” he added, looking embarrassed, “I don’t suppose… you know who_ I _am?”_

Marinette looked confusedly at Cat Noir. “Uh…yes?” she said. “I mean, the cat costume kind of made it obvious.”

“Cat costume…” he said, sounding distracted. He leaned up and looked down his blanket-clad form. “I… _think_ I remember a cat costume?”

Marinette blinked. _What in the Almighty’s holy name is he…_

Suddenly it clicked. “You… don’t remember who you are, do you?” she said, voice instinctively dropping to a whisper. “You don’t remember rescuing me in the forest, or… or _anything_!”

Cat smiled sheepishly. “Pretty much, yeah,” he said. “There’s bits and pieces floating around in my head, but they’re all mixed up. I remember a couple of names, ‘Alex’ and ‘Nino’, those both feel important somehow. Is one of those my name?”

Marinette felt herself blush slightly. “I… don’t know.”

“You don’t?” Cat said. “I thought you said you knew who I am?”

“I do!” Marinette replied promptly. “I mean, I don’t know _who_ you are, but I know who you _are_ … it’s complicated!”

She was interrupted by a rumble from Cat Noir’s midriff.

“I’ll bust jet you some geckfast… I mean just yet gou some breakfast… I mean… food!” Marinette sputtered, and dashed down the stairs before she could make any more of a fool of herself. She stopped in the second floor landing and closed her eyes.

_Stop it, girl,_ she thought. _Sure, he’s built like a warrior and has beautiful golden hair and perfect skin and the most gorgeous green eyes and he literally saved your life…_

_No, no! You_ have _a suitor, remember? Even if you only see Luka one day in three on the best days, and he disappears for weeks at a time…_

_STOP,_ she thought in her mother’s voice. _Whatever else he is, that boy is your patient, and you are a healer. You_ will not _let your flittering stop you from tending him properly._

She snapped her eyes open and tip-toed down the stairs into the kitchen. She’d set aside some fruit and bread for Cat Noir, and even made him a small bowl of scrambled eggs. She didn’t like heavy breakfasts herself, but Cat Noir would need richer fare to renew the blood he’d lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette scrambled back upstairs. Cat Noir was sitting up in her bed now, leaning up against the wall. His eyes lit up as he saw her come in, and Marinette felt her heart flutter.

“That smells delicious,” he said.

“Thank you,” Marinette replied, feeling herself blush slightly.

She settled the tray in Cat Noir’s lap, trying to ignore his mostly-naked chest, then hastily retreated to the stool beside the bed. For a few moments, she watched him wolf down the food, then she shook her head. She still had a lot to explain to him.

“Ok,” she said. “Let’s start at the top. The nation you’re in right now is called Paree, and for the past six and a bit years we’ve been at war with our northern neighbor, Franeaux.”

Cat Noir nodded his head, mouth full of eggs.

“I’m a little too young to remember this part clearly,” Marinette continued, “but according to the stories Franeaux’s king, Gabriel Agreste, was talking about a marriage alliance between our two kingdoms. His son, Prince Adrien, was betrothed to Princess Chloe Bourgeois of Paree, and he was coming down to Paree City – that’s where you are right now – on a state visit, to spend a year or so getting to know his fiancé and her courtiers. And then he vanished, disappeared without a trace. King Agreste accused King Bourgeois of kidnapping him and demanded his return, but of course King Bourgeois didn’t know where he’d gone either, and when he couldn’t produce Prince Adrien Franeaux went to war.”

Cat Noir’s face twisted. “I feel like… Plagg’s claws, I _know_ I know something important about that war, but I can’t dig it out!”

“Let me keep going,” Marinette said. “See, the war isn’t the most important thing, not right now and not for you.”

She took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts in order. “See, not long after the war started, there began to be attacks, on both sides of the battlelines, by forces nobody recognized. A small group, slipping in and out, striking at various targets. Mostly nobles, particularly corrupt ones, or officers who were using their powers against civilians. They call themselves the Miraculous, use titles based on animals. Turtle, Rabbit, Fox…”,

“…Cat Noir,” she added, pausing carefully. Cat gave her an odd look from where he sat on the bed.

“That ring any bells?” she asked.

“Kind of?” he said. “Those names you mentioned certainly sound familiar, but I’m still not getting anything more than fragments. I remember a young man with brownish skin and hair, and dark eyes. I think. And a woman, with platinum hair and almost snow-white skin. She’s older than I am, though. A lot older, I’m pretty sure.”

Marinette considered that for a moment, but failed to come to any conclusions. “Anyway,” she said. “Yesterday, I was out in the woods, looking for some medical herbs – my mother’s a healer and she’s teaching me, most of the real healers have been taken away to the front lines – when I was attacked by a group of bandits.” Marinette heard her voice speeding up, her mind trying to skip over the memories she did not wish to review. “They chased me to their camp, they were going to rape me, and then one of the Miraculous showed up. Cat Noir. He fought the bandits, killed all of them but got really badly hurt himself, so…”

“So you took him back to your home in secret, tended his wounds until he woke up, and only then found out that he didn’t remember anything,” Cat Noir finished for her.

“Exactly,” Marinette said, pushing the memories back down with relief. “And, speaking of wounds, I should probably change those bandages. It looks like you’re done with breakfast…”

She felt herself blush vividly as she unwound the first bandage from around Cat Noir’s muscular chest, but her mother’s training kept her hands steady and her mind clear.

“So,” Cat Noir said casually, “I take it my presence here has to be kept a secret?”

“Oh yes,” Marinette said distractedly. “There’s a pretty hefty bounty on any of the Miraculous, and yours is the largest by a good deal. And quite aside from that, if the King found out I was hiding you, he’d probably have me drawn and quartered.”

She felt Cat Noir’s stomach muscles tense under her fingers. “I… see,” he said, “and I’m sorry for putting you in danger.”

Marinette felt herself blush. “You saved my life, and more,” she said, keeping her gaze fixed on the gash in Cat Noir’s side. “I had to save yours, whatever the risk. But it does mean that I have to keep you secret even from people I would trust with just about anything else.”

“ _Maybe_ I could bring Alya in on it,” she said, considering. “But even for her the reward would be a pretty big temptation. Not to mention that she like gossip, and I’m not completely sure I could trust her to bottle up a story this exciting. And I don’t think there’s anyone else I could trust with this, not even the people like Luka or Nathaniel who Mom and I trust with little secrets like unauthorized healing or helping smuggle deserters past the pressmen.”

“I do hope you regain your memories soon,” she added as she rewound the bandage. “I’m pretty sure _I_ don’t know any of the Miraculous, and I’m not at all sure how to get in touch with them.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alya Cesaire grinned as she strode down the road towards the Dupain-Cheng boulangerie. She quickly sidestepped a patrol of watchmen, shooting a quick grin at them. While she wasn’t technically castle staff herself, both her parents were, and that came with a certain level of status. It also came with access to the juiciest gossip, and that was half of what drove her to leave the castle walls and enter the city. The other half, of course, was breakfast pastries. She still maintained that her mother made the finest soups and roasts in the kingdom, but even she had to admit that the Dupain-Chengs quite literally took the cake in breads and pastries.

She paused momentarily to shoot another grin at a handsome stranger, one whose complexion and hair were a few shades darker than her own cinnamon features, as he passed her on the street, and then she was at the boulangerie and sweeping in the door. She took a step to the side and paused a moment to let her eyes adjust, surveying the interior.

“Hello, Mrs. Cheng,” she said. “Is Marinette in?”

“She’s upstairs,” Marinette’s mother said. “Marinette!” she added, raising her voice. “Alya is here to see you!”

There was a crash from above them, followed by a rapid clatter as Marinette dashed down the stairs, coming out the door in the rear of the main room with such force that she almost ran into the display trays.

“Alya!” Marinette gasped.

Alya grinned. “Hello, Marinette,” she said. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Uh, what, I mean, no!” Marinette babbled. “I mean, what could you possibly be interrupting?”

Alya rolled her eyes. She really had thought Marinette was more composed than this, these days. “Good,” she said. “Then you won’t mind taking a bit to listen. You will not _believe_ what I have to tell you!”

“Shall we head upstairs?” she added, already starting on her way towards the stairs.

“No!” Marinette blurted out. “I mean, uh, let’s go outside and, uh… visit the pigeons!” she said quickly.

_Oh ho,_ Alya thought. _Something is Going On here. I haven’t seen Marinette this shaken in years. ‘Visit the pigeons’, really? Better not ask about it here, though._

“Alright,” Alya said out loud. “Let’s go visit some pigeons. After I get some breakfast,” she added, turning to survey the counter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hearing her native tongue, seeing others with Kazanchi features, felt oddly surreal to Kagami now. Paree City was the primary trade point for the ships that crossed the sea from the far West, and the one city here in the East with a meaningful Kazanchi population. Elsewhere in Paree or Franeaux, Kagami’s ethnicity was vanishingly rare, to the point where she’d seen people walk off the side of roads or into buildings because they were so busy staring at her. But here in Paree, she could walk down the street and nobody took much note.

Of course, the flip side of that was that this was the one place where she had to worry about running into family members. Not all of House Tsirugi agreed with what she’d done as the Miraculous Dragon, and even after all these years there was a risk of meeting someone who’d know her by sight.

She sighed internally as she walked along the flagstone path that wound through the park, though her training kept her face blank.

_What am I doing here?_ she thought. She was a trained swordsmith, and one of the finest duelists in the world, but she was no infiltrator or spy. That had always been the work of others of the Miraculous. But… well, she _couldn’t_ stay back at the camp, not when her beloved was somewhere in this city, dead or a prisoner. Perhaps it would have been the wiser decision, but her soul simply wasn’t strong enough for such a vigil. Whether or not she was ready, this was the trial Tikki and Plagg had set before her. She’d simply have to do her best to meet it.

She raised her eyes and glanced around, trying to figure out where to go from here. For a moment, her gaze snagged on a pair of young women about her own age who sat nearby on the grass. One had cinnamon-colored skin and hair, hinting at Achu heritage, while the other had a faintly Kazanchi element to her bright blue eyes and glossy black hair.

Kagami shook her head again, refocusing, and then spotted the complex sigil of worship enameled on a spire across the park.

_As good a place to start as any_ , Kagami thought, starting to stride across the park as quickly as she could manage in her formal kimono. _Besides, it’s been far too long since I visited a cathedron._

The way people here in the East worshipped still felt horrifically disrespectful to her. Yes, of course the Almighty ruled over and created everything, but he’d created the kwamis to create and manage the world. You weren’t supposed to pray to the Almighty directly, any more than you went to the Emperor with your problems instead of to your local governor. But Kagami, like most of her people, figured that if the kwamis (or the Almighty himself, for that matter) hadn’t punished these god-botherers for their impudence it certainly wasn’t _her_ place to rebuke them. At least, that was how she’d put it to herself before she’d joined the Miraculous. These days… she wasn’t quite sure what she thought.

In any case, it was good to visit a proper cathedron again. She stepped across the threshold into the building, and took a moment to let her eyes adjust. Around the perimeter of the building were dozens of stained-glass windows, each showing a different kwami and each with a small shrine beneath it to offer petition or devotion to that kwami. A few individuals in various colors of kimono stood or knelt around the perimeter of the temple. Several were congregated around Kaalki’s shrine, presumably praying for safe voyages for ships or caravans.

After a moment’s thought, Kagami decided to start by petitioning Plagg. If she was going to invoke one of the Regal Kwamis at all, it made sense to speak to him first.

Plagg’s and Tikki’s windows were placed on the front of the cathedron where they would catch the light from the park, so it only took Kagami a few steps to reach Plagg’s shrine. She pulled a few gold coins out of her belt pouch and dropped them into a bowl, then lit a couple of sticks of incense and knelt before Plagg’s window, head bowed and eyes closed.

“Plagg, bringer of the end,” she whispered. “I ask for your mercy upon my beloved, he who bears your title and likeness. Let your touch bring confusion and disarray upon his enemies, and may you shield him from misfortune and bring him safely back to me at last.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “I love him. I love him as you love Tikki. May our love call to your love, and may you show mercy upon us for the sake of that love. Please.”

She knelt there for a moment longer, then rose. She turned to survey the cathedron further… and froze as a figure walked in the door. Tall, slender, with the same glossy black hair as Kagami, though hers was longer, tied back in a bun. She wore a formal kimono in red-trimmed white, over her eyes was a band of pale blue cloth embroidered with a pattern of stylized running rabbits, and she carried a bundled cane with which she tapped the floor before her.

Kagami stood motionless, barely daring to breath, as her mother walked past her and deeper into the cathedron, heading for the window dedicated to Sass.

As quickly as she dared, Kagami made her way back out the door and into the park.

_I really should have seen that coming,_ she thought. _Nice one, Plagg._

_Now, where do I want to go next?_


End file.
